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Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been sworn in as Mali's new president, after winning the country's first election since last year's coup.

Keita vowed to protect democratic gains and rebuild national unity during a small ceremony Wednesday in the capital, Bamako. The new president also promised to fight corruption, saying no one will ever get rich off public funds again.

Guests at the ceremony included Keita's election rival, Soumaila Cisse, and outgoing transitional leader Dioncounda Traore, who Keita saluted for keeping the country together in the face of numerous challenges.

A full inauguration celebration, attended by world leaders, is expected to take place later this month.

Keita, a one-time prime minister and former president of the National Assembly, won the August 11th run-off election with 77 percent of votes. His victory came with support from Muslim religious leaders, the military and most of his first-round rivals.

He faces the task of reuniting Mali after 20 months of unrest that included a Tuareg rebellion, the overthrow of President Amadou Toure and a takeover of the north by Islamist militants, who were later ousted by a French-led military offensive.

After forming his government, Keita will have 60 days to open what are expected to be difficult negotiations with an armed Tuareg separatist group, the MNLA, and its allies in the far northern region of Kidal.

Afghan officials and human rights organizations assert that Pakistani authorities are using deadly attack at school in Peshawar as pretext to push out Afghan refugees More

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by: Meriban from: Lagos

September 04, 2013 12:02 PM

Shocking as it may seem, Mali’s coup leader, Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo, had been given US military and intelligence training by the US Africa Command, through the US State Department-sponsored International Military Education and Training program.

The narrative is that Tuareg fighters returning from fighting for Gaddafi in Libya were stirring up trouble in Mali and the elected government of President Amadou Toumani Toure was not aggressive enough in combating the rebels in the north. Being a good patriot, Sanogo’s soldiers took matters into their own hands.

Proving that Sanogo was paying attention during his State Department-funded training, he named his movement to overthrow the legitimately-elected government of Mali the “National Committee for the Return of Democracy and the Restoration of the State.” Democracy is what we say it is. You return to democracy by overthrowing democracy. To understand the logic, it may be necessary to take US State Department-funded “demokra-speak” lessons.

by: Molly from: USA

September 04, 2013 11:59 AM

Mali is one of the most irrelevant countries in West Africa from a resource standpoint, and what happens inside of it is certainly irrelevant from a greater geopolitical standpoint.

What is more important is what this map doesn’t show, specifically the name of the country located a few hundred miles to the south: Nigeria.

Now Nigeria is important: very important. Or rather, Nigerian light sweet, one of the highest quality crudes in the world, is. And thanks to the “bungled” French peacemaking attempt, the US now has a critical foothold in what is the most strategically placed stretch of desert in Western Africa, a place where US “military trainers” will now be deployed at will.

Be on the lookout for curious escalations in violence around the capital Abuja, and key port city Lagos, in the coming months once the current Mali fracas is long forgotten.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that his country could face further consequences to what he called its “already strained economy” if Moscow does not fully comply with a cease-fire in Ukraine. The two met, on Monday, on the sidelines of a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, where Kerry outlined human rights violations in Russian-annexed Crimea and eastern Ukraine. VOA State Department correspondent Pam Dockins reports from Geneva.

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that his country could face further consequences to what he called its “already strained economy” if Moscow does not fully comply with a cease-fire in Ukraine. The two met, on Monday, on the sidelines of a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, where Kerry outlined human rights violations in Russian-annexed Crimea and eastern Ukraine. VOA State Department correspondent Pam Dockins reports from Geneva.

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Diagnosing infections such as HIV requires expensive clinical tests, making the procedure too costly for many poor patients or those living in remote areas. But a new technology called lab-on-a-chip may make the tests more accessible to many. VOA’s George Putic reports.

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Despite the ongoing ceasefire in Ukraine, soldiers in the city of Mariupol fear that pro-Russian separatists may be getting ready to attack. The separatists must take or encircle the city if they wish to gain land access to Crimea, which was annexed by Russia early last year. But Ukrainian forces, many of them volunteers, say they are determined to defend it. Patrick Wells reports from Mariupol.

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As low oil prices and Western sanctions force Russia's economy into recession, thousands of Moscow restaurants are expected to close their doors. Restaurant owners face rents tied to foreign currency, while rising food prices mean Russians are spending less when they dine out. One entrepreneur in Moscow has started a dinner kit delivery service for those who want to cook at home to save money but not skimp on quality. VOA's Daniel Schearf reports.

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The United States and Cuba say they have made progress in the second round of talks on restoring diplomatic relations more than 50 years after breaking off ties. Delegations from both sides met in Washington on Friday to work on opening embassies in Havana and Washington and iron out key obstacles to historic change. VOA’s Mary Alice Salinas reports from the State Department.

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One after another, presumptive Republican presidential contenders auditioned for conservative support this week at the Conservative Political Action Conference held outside Washington. The rhetoric was tough as a large field of potential candidates tried to woo conservative support with red-meat attacks on President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress. VOA Political Columnist Jim Malone takes a look.

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Issues like the Keystone XL pipeline, fracking and instability in the Middle East are driving debate in the U.S. about making America energy independent. Recently, the American Energy Innovation Council urged Congress and the White House to make expanded energy research a priority. One beneficiary of increased energy spending would be the Brookhaven National Lab, where clean, renewable, efficient energy is the goal. VOA's Bernard Shusman reports.

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With the end of summer in the Southern hemisphere, the Antarctic research season is over. Scientists from Northern Illinois University are back in their laboratory after a 3-month expedition on the Ross Ice Shelf, the world’s largest floating ice sheet. As VOA’s Rosanne Skirble reports, they hope to find clues to explain the dynamics of the rapidly melting ice and its impact on sea level rise.

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